scratch building a SpaceX Falcon 9

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techrat

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Howdy folks. I am thinking of scratch-building a Falcon 9, rather than paying through the nose for the Estes RTF version -- theirs appears to be plastic cladding over a BT-60 tube. I would like to scale mine up slightly to fly on 24mm motors. BT-70 tube might work, but I guess I'd need at least two 18" sections and a coupler, and then obviously, I'd need to form my own nose cone, but, if I do not do the Dragon Capsule, but rather the StarLink Launcher, I might be able to use a short section of BT-80 and a Super Big Bertha Nosecone and get pretty close, but how I make the lower transition into the Body tube, that part I still have to work out.

ALSO, what I want to do is avoid the clear plastic fins, So I am thinking of building balsa or basswood landing legs, extended, to become the 4 fins for the rocket. A lot of drag, due to the shape, which is one of the reasons I am thinking 24mm motors rather than 18mm. But landing legs have been done before, like the mars lander, and if I cut some slots, they should work well.

Any thoughts?? Anyone have a better plan?
 
"how I make the lower transition into the Body tube, that part I still have to work out."
Add a paper shroud transition between the body tubes, similar to how old Saturn V and Saturn 1B kits did.
 
Last I look you can down load 3D files from Apogee and make your own if you have access to a printer. This is my version of the heavy. The two side booster nose cones are Easter eggs and the grid fins are balsa
 

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